Lucifer's Prayer
by Rend
Summary: [AU.CloudxTifaxSephiroth triangle]War, Romance, Betrayal. Cloud begins classes at the Shinra institute however with an impending war and a dangerous cult plotting Armageddon, things become complicated.
1. Eclypse

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, any of it's characters or references, The Final Fantasy VII trademark is owned by Square-Enix, I lay no claim to it nor will this fanfiction be used for any commerical value.

**Lucifer's Prayer**

Final Fantasy VII

**Chapter 1:**

…_Eclypse…_

The night sky was completely overcast with dark clouds. Rain had only recently begun to fall, at first it started as a light drizzle but within a few seconds it had developed into a torrent, making it difficult to see through the thick droplets. Then after the rain began lightening ripped through the sky, tearing its way down to the earth accompanied by the roar of thunder. The landscape was relatively flat with the contours fluctuating at various locations and now within those fluctuations puddles started to form. It was also barren there were no signs of civilization in sight and the earth was scorched black, a few bare skeletons of trees remained in the far of distance, but their barks were burnt to a crisp.

In the middle of this barren wasteland the small figure of a twelve year old boy fell forward, but he quickly countered using the sword he was holding in his right hand to thrust into the dirt and trying to use it as support. His hair was blond and both wild and unruly, even despite the heavy down pour had a difficult time sticking to his skin and his clothes were battered and torn barely covering him, there were darkened patches on his skin indicating impact wounds.

The child was exhausted, he was panting heavily, his hands had difficulty trying to grip the handle of the sword. His knees felt weak they would give in any second…then he heard it, in the distance the sound of an impact against a puddle of water, then another and another.

The young child's eyes held no pupil, his entire iris was a deep green, they seemed to glow brightly radiating a strange light. He turned his head to the sound of the disturbance, his exhaustion replaced with anger. He made out the figure of a man approaching him. He gritted his teeth, his brows narrowed as he prepared for battle.

"An…geal," the boy sounded as if he was struggling, like he was losing a fight, despite this his eyes were bearing anger at the man. The newcomer was dressed in the outfit of a 1st Class Soldier, of Shin-Ra's elite army. His appeared to be in his late twenties, he had light blue eyes and long black hair, all of which fell to his back and reached a little past his neck. He had a solid build, he wasn't small nor was he bulky and overdeveloped, on his back he carried a sword almost a large as himself.

It was another flash of lightening, it provided the only light in this barren wilderness, the child's eyes which also glowed provided his location for Angeal. The streak had vanished leaving everything in complete darkness, a few seconds later there was a deafening roar however both figures remained unmoved.

"Cloud, what have you done?" Angeal exclaimed, both surprise and fear evident in his voice.

---------------

_5 Years Later_

Through the clear cerulean skies, the golden sun shone its rays down onto the city of Midgar. The city was still wet from the recent rain, yet people had already begun to come out, there were still puddles in the road and wherever there were depressions on the land. Though most of the city was developed, on the western side of the city there were expansions to the city being carried on.

A young girl made her way through throngs of faceless people till she arrived at her destination a small flower shop located on the bottom floor of a two story house. The shop was located on a main road and at the corner of an alley.

The young girl who appeared no older than sixteen had long raven-black hair reaching down to her waist, it was combed from the left of her head to the right and lightly fell forward over part of her forehead. Hey eyes were like small rubies, and she had a very slender frame with developed curves. She also stood at a height of five feet, two inches.

The girl pushed the door to the flower shop, hearing the jingle of the bell as she entered. The flower shop though small, were filled with many various types of flowers, that provided a wonderful fragrance to the atmosphere, there were only three small isles but with the various colours of the plants and the varieties of species, it was the young girl's choice for when it came for shopping for flowers. The building is also where her closest friend lived. Her ruby eyes looked to the counter to see the owner of the store smiling at her, she was older than the girl probably in her late thirties but despite this she still had a slender form, she had long light brown hair reaching down to her knees and a pair of emerald green eyes that seemed to smile at everyone.

"Hello Tifa," The woman said, "Are you looking for anything in particular today? Or are you here to see Aerith?"

A smile formed on the young maiden's pink lips, "Sorry Ifalna, only to see Aerith today." Tifa replied, "Is she here? Or is she out with Zack? I tried calling her phone but wasn't getting any signal."

"That's okay," Ifalna replied, "She's upstairs, she's been in the garden since morning," Ifalna explained, "Aerith, Tifa's here to see you!"

Within a few seconds another girl slightly taller and two years older than Tifa came running down the steps behind the counter.

"Tifa!" The new girl cried out.

The new female who arrived, was only about an inch taller than Tifa, she was just as slender but her curves didn't highlight as much. She had emerald green eyes the same as Ifalna, her hair colour was the same only much shorter, and shorter than Tifa's also stopping short of her waist, at both sides of her temples strands of hair fell down but they were curled and she had short bangs that barely reached her eyes.

"Tifa, I got your text, come upstairs, you have to tell me how this happened!" Aerith almost sounded desperate.

Tifa smiled, though at the moment in front of Ifalna she was trying to contain her joy. The raven-haired girl walked towards the counter, she stopped for a moment and bowed to Ifalna, when she turned to Aerith the older girl grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs.

Tifa was dressed in plain fitted blue jeans with a pair of white sneakers on her feet and a yellow shirt. Aerith was dressed in a pink and white dress, the dress was white but both sides were pink with pink straps over her shoulders and brown sandals on her feet.

Aerith had led Tifa up the stairs and to her room. Once they were both in, the emerald-eyed girl shut the door.

"How did this happen?" Aerith exclaimed.

"Before that, you haven't told Zack yet? Have you?" Tifa asked nervously.

Aerith sat down on her bed, which unsurprisingly enough had a pink sheet on it. In fact from the girl's room pink was the prominent colour. From the colour of her bed-sheet to the paint on her walls to her curtains they were all subtle shades of pink. Tifa pulled out the chair from behind the desk and sat facing Aerith.

"No I haven't told Zack yet, I only got the message about half an hour ago and to be honest, I'm still shocked!" Aerith exclaimed.

"What are you so surprised about?" Tifa asked innocently though when she first received the news, she was dumbstruck.

"You've misinterpreted me, I not surprised that he asked you out just surprised that he could," Aerith explained.

"I know what you're saying, Sephiroth is a rock when it comes to displaying emotions," Tifa replied.

"Well tell me exactly how it happened?" Aerith asked, "Because sooner or later Zack is bound to ask and you know how he can get, you had best tell me so if he asks I can tell him."

Tifa looked up at her, "Didn't I tell you everything already?"

Aerith took her phone from atop the bed and accessed the messages, she then turned the screen to show Tifa the message she sent. There in bold letters were the words 'Sephiroth asked me out!'

The raven-haired maiden twitched, "Well I a bit dumb struck when he asked me so you'll have to forgive my bluntness."

"I will if you tell me what happened," Aerith replied.

"Well actually I accidentally bumped into him at the institute, I was a bit surprised to see him there, but he said he had some business with the head master, it was then he asked me out," Tifa tried her best to contain her glee although she was doing a terrible job at it, it was obvious that the young maiden wanted to jump up and down.

"It has to be some event for him to ask…" the emerald-eyed girl started but was cut off.

"Well his mother Lucrecia Crescent is hosting a party tonight at her residence for the top Shin-Ra officials, normally he doesn't attend such events but since his mother is the host, he will be forced to attend, and he asked me to be his escort," Tifa explained.

"Tonight?" Aerith asked puzzled, "Interesting tonight there's a lunar eclipse."

"Well that explains a lot, I knew it was only a matter of time until he made his move," Aerith said.

The last statement caught Tifa by surprise. Did the flower girl know something she didn't? "What do you mean?

"Err…it's nothing…have you decided what you're going to wear?" Aerith asked.

Tifa nodded her head, "That's also another reason I'm here, I need you to help pick something out."

Aerith jumped up, "I know the perfect thing."

"And it better not be pink," Tifa added.

"Boo, you're no fun," Aerith said both innocently and annoyingly.

---------------

On the western side of the city where the city was being extended two lone figured stood atop a plate looking out into the distance, there on the horizon they could make out another city that was still being constructed.

Both figures were male and had solid builds, one stood five feet ten inches, he had long black hair that was spiked at the ends, it reached down mid-way by his back, and also falling down at both sides of his temples, stopping at his jaw, the spikes seemed natural. His eyes were a deep blue and he wore the outfit out a 1st class Soldier, though he looked no older than eighteen. The other appeared to be slightly older, he had silver hair that reached down to his knees, and on both sides of his temples they fell past his jaw and reading down to his chest. His pupils were slanted like those of a cat and he had light crystal blue eyes. He also stood at exactly six feet and unlike his companion he was not dressed in a uniform, instead he had on a plain white t-shirt tucked into his long black military pants that were in turn tucked into his black boots. He wore dark gloves on his hands and a long black trench coat over him.

"I don't get why we were sent here?" The dark haired male complained, "Isn't surveys the Turks job? Hardly work for the military."

"Zack, have you been keeping up to date with recent events?" The silver haired male spoke in a calm emotionless voice.

"I tend to avoid getting involved in politics," Zack replied.

"Zack, you're now a 1st class Soldier, the highest rank in Soldier, Shin-Ra's elite army, you should pay more attention," The other man replied.

"Alright Sephiroth, enlighten me, why were a General and 1st class Soldier dispatched to watch an area that holds no real value?" Zack asked.

"You know of the rebel group Avalanche, don't you?" Sephiroth asked.

Zack nodded his head, "Well recently there have been reports that they have joined forces with Wu-Tai."

Zack turned to his companion his eyes wide with shock, however Sephiroth remained unmoved. He continued to look out. Zack moved and went to sit on some stacked pieces of wood.

"That's not all, recently other towns like Cosmo and Rocket that oppose Shin-Ra have joined with Wu-Tai, they now have an army as large as Shin-Ra's and pose a significant threat, not only that but their information network is currently greater than ours," Sephiroth further explained.

After his explanation to his friend, the eerie eyed man looked up into the sky to see it painted red and orange, the sun was beginning to set. Without any further words, he leaped off the plate and onto the ground. Zack who was startled by his companion's actions quickly got off the stack he was sitting and looked over the edge of the plate.

"Hey where are you going?' Zack asked.

"Mother is hosting a gathering tonight, and I am being forced to attend," Sephiroth replied but not turning to acknowledge his friend.

"I thought you don't attend such events," Zack replied.

"You are entitled to your freedom of perception," He replied coldly, "I usually don't, but I invited Tifa…I don't want to be late," The silver-haired man replied in a softer voice just barely enough for his companion to hear, then he silently walked away from him no longer acknowledging his presence.

A smirk formed on Zack's lips, he noted the pause after Sephiroth mentioned Tifa's name, "So he's got a crush."

---------------

It was in late evening when Tifa arrived at the Crescent residence, she was not surprised by the size of the estate after all, Lucrecia was high ranking official within Shin-Ra. Tifa often wondered of Lucrecia's status and if she role to play in Sephiroth already becoming a general in the army after all he was only three years older than herself.

The horse-drawn carriage that carried Tifa was empty, but that also came of no surprise to her, she had rented it for only one passenger, although she thought she would have to thank Aerith later for helping her pay for the rental, and for suggesting the carriage for now she saw many other officials arriving the same way.

Once the carriage entered the compound it took around five minutes till it arrived at the front entrance. While she was still within the carriage and the horse was marching up the pathway to the front entrance the ruby-eyed maiden looked outside the window to see a beautiful lush green lawn that was well kept and stretched on. It appeared as if lawn surrounded the mansion, and a mammoth wall surrounded the entire compound, except at the front entrance, where twin metal gates stood.

Once the carriage had drawn to a halt in front of the mansion, the door opened and an attendant extended his hand for her. The sixteen year old girl gracefully placed her gloved hand in his and with the same grace exited the carriage. She walked up to the entrance, where there was another attendant, this time standing behind a small altar, he was aged and somewhat small, although noticeably slightly larger than Tifa, dressed in an old black tuxedo, his grey hair and moustache indicating his age.

"Name please, Miss?" He asked politely.

Tifa smiled at him, "Tifa Lockheart," She replied serenely.

The man looked at the list of guests before him, it didn't take long her name was on the list of VIP's.

"Oh forgive me Ma'am please go inside," He finished. The man was somewhat surprised that this girl would be on the list of VIP's, that list was reserved only for members of the Shin-Ra council all of which were mostly senior citizens now and here she was in her early teens, but his job was to screen the guests so he quickly brushed it off and went to tend to another visitor.

Tifa walked forward to the large entranceway, two more attendants in their penguin-looking suits were their. She stepped into the Crescent residence, there was a small area with some steps to the left leading to the second floor, but she knew where she had to go, a little further ahead with another open doorway with two more attendants. She walked through to be greeted by a grand hall. Never had she seen such a large open enclosed space before, it was broken down into several sections. At the entrance above her to her right on an elevated platform was a live orchestra conducted they symphony completely uninterrupted by the guests. At the center of the hall were where couples danced, the dance area Tifa was sure was at least as big as the football field at the Shin-Ra institute where she attended class. Surrounding the dance area in a circular fashion was countless small circular tabled with white table cloths that reached down to the floor, each table were surrounded by four chairs. To the north there was a second level on the hall that only stretched out till the dance area, there it went out and formed a semi-circle of the ballroom.

Tifa looked around the area. She didn't recognize anyone she knew, the place was filled with countless anonymous people most of which were dressed in medieval aristocratic outfits. Since she didn't recognize anyone so she would have to find the only one she knew that would be here, the one who invited her.

She walked around a bit but still didn't find him, them something caught her eye; it was a brief flash of red. She moved to see who it was, only to see a beautiful woman with long red hair accompanied by two other people, one of them was the person she was looking for, the other a stranger. The woman was talking to someone, presumably important, she saw her introduce Sephiroth, she deduced it was his mother Lucrecia Crescent, she had never met her before but from what she saw the woman was beautiful, she didn't appear to be old nor would one guess she was a mother. It was the other man to her side that puzzled Tifa, he appeared to be a Turk, dressed in their uniform, his eyes were crimson but a deeper shade that hers, his hair was just a black, but short and neatly combed.

Without warning Sephiroth turned to face Tifa. The young maiden was a bit surprised when Sephiroth left his mother's side and walked towards her.

"I'm glad you could attend," Sephiroth said eyeing Tifa's outfit.

She was dressed in a plain white dress with slits on both sides at her legs that seemed to reach up to her hips and there were thin straps that held the dress over her shoulders. She wore white gloves on her hands that reached to her elbows and was completed with a pair of elegant white high heeled shoes and a necklace of pearls around her neck. She would have to thank Aerith for the necklace later, it was hers'.

"I'm just glad I can be here," Tifa replied smiling at him, while looking at his outfit.

He was dressed similarly to most of the people present but with a more military presence. He wore a black medieval aristocratic outfit, though the buttons were gold as well as pads on his shoulders were gold, but everything else; the long sleeved shirt that was tucked into his gloves and pants and his boots that his pants were tucked into as well as the cloak he wore that ran across his shoulders and covered half his body; they were all as black as coal.

"How about we go outside, I can't stand these aristocrats and their fake pleasantries any longer," the general spoke.

Tifa nodded her head but as they prepared to move off, they were intercepted by Lucrecia and her escort.

"Sephiroth, where did you go?" Lucrecia asked standing in front her son. She glanced to her side see a very attractive female on his hand, "Oh and who is this?" She inquired.

"Mother," Sephiroth said addressing her, "This is Tifa Lockheart," He turned to Tifa, "Tifa, this is my mother, Lucrecia Crescent."

Tifa released her hand from Sephiroth's and gracefully bowed before her.

"Lockheart…hmm that name sounds familiar," Lucrecia pondered for a second but almost instantly made a complete 180 degree turn in her mood, "Well never mind, Tifa it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm glad to see my son has a female friend as you can imagine he socializes very little."

Sephiroth remained silent but displayed no sign of being uncomfortable, "Oh this here is Vincent Valentine," she said nodding to the male by her side.

Vincent stepped forward and politely bowed before Tifa, "It's a pleasure Miss Lockheart."

One thing that surprised Tifa was Lucrecia, Sephiroth was nineteen, three years her senior but Lucrecia appeared be barely thirty, Vincent on the other appeared be older than Sephiroth but younger than Lucrecia, he was probably in his mid-twenties.

"We'll be on the balcony if you need us mother, now if you'll excuse us, we'll take out leave," Sephiroth spoke up and took Tifa by the hand almost dragging her and led her to some stairs by the eastern side of the room.

Once they were safely ear's length away Vincent turned to Lucrecia, "You've already greeted all the VIP's" He spoke.

Lucrecia's eyes were on her son, she watched at her walked up the stairs with his companion and out the door to the balcony outside, "I thought he would never find someone to settle down with," She confessed silently.

"Well now it appears you have nothing to worry about," Vincent said.

"What do you mean?" Lucrecia asked turning to him, she had to look up at him because he stood at least half a foot taller than her.

"Did you see the way he gazes upon her, though he displays little emotion out of battle it obvious to see he's quite smitten with her," The crimson-eyed man explained.

"Well then, since we've already greeted all the VIP's shall we dance?" She replied playfully, though she didn't wait for his reply and quickly took his hand.

Vincent who usually always appeared serious relaxed, a half-smile formed on his lips as he allowed the beautiful woman before him to lead him to the dance area.

Sephiroth and Tifa were the only two outside on the second floor balcony. The entire balcony seemed as if it could accommodate a quarter of the people present at the party at the same time, there were two entrances to the balcony from two staircases that led to the ballroom below. The couple walked to edge of the balcony and stopped at the concrete banister. The banister formed an arch and there were plants at equal intervals on it, all of which glowed with an eerie green in the night.

Both looked out over the lawn, Tifa was surprised when she saw a large hedge maze below here with a fountain located at the center, she was surprised because from what she saw earlier, the maze wasn't there, she thought the lawn surrounded the entire mansion. Sephiroth had his eyes fixed on the moon, he could see the Earth's shadow being cast on it.

Tifa was feeling awkward, she didn't know what to say to Sephiroth, he was always so mysterious to her, yet they both shared conversations in the past. It didn't help that her cheeks were pink and her heart-rate was gradually increasing from being in the close proximity of her silver-haired companion.

"Is something wrong?" Sephiroth asked sensing Tifa's nervousness.

"No it's nothing," She quickly replied.

Sephiroth turned to face her, his arms still folded on the banister, he saw Tifa looking up at him.

"Why did you invite me today?" Tifa asked, feeling her heart-rate increase from the close proximity of their bodies.

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked back.

"Today at the institute, you asked me to be your guest? Yet I find myself out of place among all these aristocrats," Tifa explained.

"I wanted your company, that's all, besides I hate being around aristocrats," He also explained.

"You mother, she's an aristocrat also, right?" The ruby-eyed girl asked.

Sephiroth nodded.

"What rank does she hold in Shin-Ra?" Tifa questioned.

"She's a member of council," Sephiroth said bluntly.

Tifa couldn't believe her ears, she was shocked, her eyes grew wide after hearing his remark, "A member of the Shin-Ra council? Then some of the people in there are…"

"Other council members," The silver-haired man finished, "Actually the Emperor's son Rufus is also present."

It was another blow to her, she didn't expect there to be so many high ranking officials and the most important people in the Shin-Ra Empire to be present. Though she was flustered, it was only a matter of seconds before she regained her composure. She turned and looked out over the scenery.

"Tifa, thanks," Sephiroth said.

Tifa turned to him surprised and startled, but he was not looking at her but his gaze was upon what her's was previously locked with.

"What are you thanking me for?" Tifa asked.

Sephiroth turned to her, "Always being there when I need you."

Tifa's heart was racing, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She moved closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, "I've always been here for you." She said softly.

Sephiroth closed his eyes and leant forward bowing his head in the process. She also closed her eyes, his gloved hands reached to her cheeks cupping her face, both their foreheads touched and a smiled formed on her lips. Though it was for a mere moment, in the body of the young female, it felt much longer.

Breaking their intimate bond and leaving Tifa more that a little disappointed the silver-haired warrior turned his eyes to the sky, more than half the moon was already hidden. Tifa looked up to him, he seemed so ethereal standing there bathed in moonlight. Unfortunately she didn't notice that the moon had begun to disappear. She watched him standing tall looking up at the sky. His longer silver hair reflecting the moonlight, his strong solid build making him seem invincible, his strangely slanted pupils that could see into the depths of her soul, his outfit seemed to fit him, comfirming his stature. He seemed so at peace standing there looking at the night sky. As if on queue a soft but cool wind began it was gentle barely felt against their skin but gentle enough to carry lightly disturb their hair. Tifa's fluttered a bit while his barely moved at him, it was at that moment she was completely intoxicated by him. Thinking of him was not something that was foreign to her, whenever he was not around she would often find herself with him in mind and on several occasions he would surprise her making her leap at his sudden appearance.

"Seph…" Tifa began in a soft voice.

Sephiroth turned to her, "Is something bothering you?" He asked.

"It just surprises me how clueless you can be," Tifa replied, Sephiroth hearing the annoyance in her voice.

The Shin-Ra general raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing," she replied and turned away from him, she prepared to walk off but was stopped when he grabbed her wrist.

The contact of their skin triggered what she was hoping to avoid, a wave of powerful emotions from within her, she could only hope it did the same for him. Before she could react, and before her body could respond, she felt herself turn back to face him. If she thought his actions tonight were strange what he did next wiped all logical thought from her brain the next thing she knew his lips were firmly planted on hers. Her eyes flew open wide, but almost immediately softened. His hands were around her waist holding her tightly and before the raven-haired maiden knew it her hands had wrapped themselves around his neck, her slender fame wrapped in the white cloth was now pressed against his larger more developed build, soon both settled into their serenity and the kiss that began as a light brush of both pairs of lips began to deepen. To Tifa, this was beyond bliss, her first kiss, soft and passionate that sent shivers down her spine and made the receptors on her skin hypersensitive, she became painfully aware of everything around her, but the part they were most sensitive, were on her lips.

As the two youngsters were preoccupied with their kiss, they didn't notice that the silver light from the moon vanished and the lunar eclipse completely enveloped the moon making it vanish into the night.

To Be Continued...

* * *

So what do you think? This fic is primarily a CloTiSeph fic, but there will also be some VincentxLucrecia and ZackxAerith stuff. I hope you enjoyed it. It's meant to be reflective of the game I love so much more than the movie, so the characters will will apprear more like their game counterparts. The second chapter is already in the works. 

And a bit of Trivia, for those who don't keep up to date with the compilation, Angeal is not an OC, he belongs to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, he's Zack's mentor and original weilder of the buster sword. And the uniform of a 1st Class Soldier is what you see Cloud wearing during the game and Zack at the end of Advent Children. Also this fic is going to get pretty dark soon, I know it started light and fluffy but be warned, I may have to change the rating to M.


	2. Black Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII any of it's characters or references.

Finally the second chapter is up, enjoy.**  
**

**Chapter 2:**

…_Black Angel…_

It was quite common for rain to fall at nights during this period at Midgar. Yet even despite this the dark clouds that blotted out the starlit sky set gloom upon the city. The rain had been pouring for the last hour and showed no sign to settling, occasionally there would be flashes of lightning. On the far outskirts of the barren wasteland that seemingly surrounded the entire city, a single lone figure draped in a dark hooded cloak stood upon the cliff, his eyes gazing out past the curtains of water to the brightly lit city.

The rain beat down on the single figure, yet they remained unmoved, a powerful gust of wind suddenly picked up blowing against the person that stood alone in the field, his cloak beat wildly against his body and took the hood of the figure's head.

The person was a male still in his youth, only about seventeen years old, he had blond spiky hair in tuffs and a small pony tail tied behind his head and only reached to the base of his neck. He had piercing blue eyes, and stood only five feet four inches. His figure was hidden below the robe.

"Is that the place?" He seemingly asked to no-one.

There was no reply from the emptiness, only the sound of the rain hitting against the earth, the occasional rolling of thunder and the howling wind.

"I see, so it's there, is it?" His voice was calm, detached as he continued his conversation with nothingness.

"Winter will soon conceive itself; we had best hurry before its conception," Were the boy's final words.

---------------

Dawn had broken upon the city, and now the wanderer made his way through the marketplace. It was filled with vendors on both sides and people in between doing their shopping. It was the weeks end and the place was packed with people of all shapes and sizes, some honest hardworking folk, the others were pickpockets and con-artists. The wanderer ever weary stayed in the shadows as he made his way through the city.

Passing the marketplace he made his way to his destination, the front of the Crescent residence. It was late morning when he arrived in front the gates. He pressed the button on the pillar next to the wall. A small square section of the wall moved and a screen came into view.

"Yes?" The grey-haired butler from the party asked.

"I request an audience with Vincent Valentine, My name is Cloud Strife," the boy said.

"One moment please," The man replied, the screen went blank.

Several minutes later the image of the young Turk came upon the screen.

"Cloud Strife, Angeal's acquaintance?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, I was told to seek you out once I arrived at Midgar," the blond-haired boy replied speaking to the monitor.

"Alright, wait right there I'll be out shortly," The crimson-eyed man finished.

The screen went blank again and once more the piece off wall that moved came back down back into its original position. The pillar was once again indistinguishable. Cloud sighed he turned around and leant up against the pillar.

Ten minutes had passed before the large iron gates moves. Cloud snapped to attention, he had almost fallen asleep resting against the pillar. He turned and glanced to the entrance, to see the same stranger, he had a conversation with moments earlier approaching him. Vincent was dressed in his usual Turk uniform. He eyed the young boy as if assessing him.

"You're younger than I expected," Vincent commented.

"If you were expecting someone of Angeal's age, then I apologize," The blond-haired boy replied.

"It is of no consequence, let's be off, I have no intention of remaining in this residence, while he is present," Cloud noticed a change in Vincent's tone as the dark-haired Turk spoke.

"He?" Cloud asked puzzled.

"Professor Hojo," Vincent replied.

"Hojo…that name sound's familiar?" Cloud pondered.

"It should, he was once a member of the high senate, now his wife Lucrecia fills that role since he abandoned it." The Turk explained.

"He abandoned his post from the senate?" Cloud asked Vincent.

"Doesn't make sense I know, but either way, this is not a topic I wish to speak of, come, there is much to do," Vincent spoke as he headed down the empty street, being trailed by the cerulean-eyed wanderer.

---------------

It was late afternoon when Tifa arrived back home to her apartment. The young girl was exhausted, it was the same routine every Friday. She unlocked the door to her apartment and entered into her small residence. The area consisted of two primary rooms. The kitchen and bedroom, however Tifa had managed to change it into three rooms but cutting the size of the kitchen, now she had a small living room also. Brushing through her apartment she made her way to her bedroom, it was approximately the same size as Aerith's but didn't have a prominent colour. Drawing the curtains, she opened the window and collapsed onto the bed, her slender frame being cushioned from the by the mattress.

She lazily stretched, then proceeded to remove her phone from her pocket. She looked at the screen, there were seven missed calls. Checking the log, they were all from the same origin, and Tifa already knew who that number belonged to. She punched in the number, then held the phone by her ear, it a matter of seconds she heard the phone on the opposite end start ringing. After a few rings she heard the person answer.

"Tifa," The voice said calmly.

"Sorry for missing all your calls, its Shalua, on Friday's she makes us work even harder," Tifa complained, "Sorry, I had to turn off my phone."

"It's alright, Shalua can be a real pain at times, don't let it get to you, are you busy?" Sephiroth asked from the other end.

"Well I just got back, and I don't have anything to do," Tifa replied.

"Good, if you don't have any plans, then there's a place I'd like to take you," Sephiroth replied in his usual calm voice.

Tifa nearly squealed in delight, both her and Sephiroth had never been out on a real date before, her tone did little to hide her joy.

"Is there any particular way I should dress?" She asked.

"In anything that comfortable to you," Was the silver-haired boy response.

"Okay I get it, I missed you today," Tifa said.

"You did? Well you'll see me soon enough, I'll pick you up early around seven, you sound tired, so till then just rest, and I'll see you soon" Sephiroth stated.

"Alright, thanks, talk to you later," Tifa finished.

Sephiroth was the first to hang up his phone, he was sitting behind a desk in his office, he was somewhere on a floor high above ground, the curtains were drawn and the windows were open. The large oak door to his office opened and Zack entered carrying a large brown envelope in his hand. Both men were dressed in their usual outfits, Zack in his soldier uniform and Sephiroth in his dark attire. The entire size of Sephiroth's office was fairly large almost as big as Tifa's bedroom plus living room. There were two other chairs in front the arc-shaped desk desk. Zack took a seat on one. As soon as Zack was seated Sephiroth's carefree tone he used with the young ruby-eyed girl was gone.

"Is everything is accordance?" Sephiroth questioned.

"Yes, we're ahead of schedule, the materia has already been located, unfortunately it lies within the possession of Avalanche," Zack explained, "Your three cousins who recently joined Erobern Sie, they've shown great potential, I have tasked them with retrieving the materia."

"Kadaj and his brothers are most skilled, I know from experience, that's why I suggested they join us in the first place, there is no doubt that they can retrieve the materia," Sephiroth replied.

"This brings me to another topic," Zack added, he then took out a document from a large brown envelope he was carrying, he then tossed the document on the desk in front both of them. The document was filled with a list of names.

"A list of new recruits?" Sephiroth queried.

"Normally, I don't come to you for such things, but it about someone who wants to join," The dark-haired Soldier explained, "I'm sure you'll recognize the name."

"Tifa Lockheart," the Shin-Ra general said reading her name on the document.

"Should we consider her?" Zack asked.

"Let her join," Was Sephiroth's reply.

Zack was taken back by Sephiroth's response, he watched as Sephiroth got out from behind his desk and walked to the window, the silver-haired man looked out to the blue sky, "Yes it would be for the best."

"Are you sure about this?" Zack asked getting up from his seat.

"Since when have I ever had to explain myself to you Zack, I said let her join, but make her initiation different from the others," The eerie-eyed boy ordered.

Zack walked to the door, he opened it a bit, "Different, you mean easier," he said without looking back, he then walked out the office.

Sephiroth turned his face to the door when he heard it close, "It makes no difference," he said to himself, he turned back to face the sky, "Tifa."

---------------

Tifa hadn't taken Sephiroth's advice on resting, instead she spend most of her time trying to figure out what to wear, finally she had made her decision, after taking a warm semi-relaxing bath, she got out from her bathroom, which was located within her bedroom. Coming out of her bathroom with only a towel covering her, she looked down at the outfit she had chosen to wear, it was similar to the one she wore two years ago when she had first met Sephiroth.

She wore a fitted white jeans that clung to her legs, a small white bra-type top that was tied at a knot in front, the top itself was actually two small separate pieces for at the back, there were several strands of a red material that held the two pieces together. She also put on a pair of white sneakers on her feet. Once she finished applying makeup and putting on her lipstick, she realized it was almost seven, and if it was one thing she learnt from being around Sephiroth was that he was always prompt.

And sure enough as seven there was a knock on the door. She made her way through her apartment to the entrance and opened the wooden door. Sephiroth didn't have on anything particularly different, he was dressed the same he always was.

"Hey, ready?" He asked, while his eyes traveled over her, he seemed to love the way her outfit highlighted her figure.

"Yeah," Tifa replied stepping out of her apartment.

"So where are we going anywhere?" Tifa asked.

"To Bacchus," Sephiroth replied while waiting for her to lock the door behind her.

"Bacchus, you mean bar Bacchus!?" Tifa asked slightly surprised, she had heard rumors of that place, unfortunately it was not a place where commoners were allowed, even if they had acquaintance with Shin-Ra.

"Never been to Bacchus before? Have you?" the boy-general asked his lips forming a smirk.

"Of course not, someone like me would never be allowed entry," Tifa shot back.

"Well don't worry about that tonight, come on let's go," Sephiroth finished.

---------------

It had been a long day for Cloud, firstly Vincent had to accompany him to the Shin-Ra institute, and help him with his registration, after that he needed to find an apartment, a job would have been good to but gil was of no worry to the wanderer. As a wanderer he occasionally to up to guild hunts, from various guilds, as such he was able to make a living hunting marks.

Finding the apartment was more difficult than he first expected, there were too few people willing to rent out to a seventeen-year-old living by himself, but after searching nearly half the day, he had finally found a place. Once that matter was settled, he had to take his leave for the evening. Vincent had requested that Cloud meet him in front the Shin-Ra towers promptly at eight p.m. It was already seven thirty, Cloud was still within his apartment, the apartment was bare, with hardly any furniture.

"Guess I'm gonna have to buy some stuff for this place," Cloud said to himself.

He had discarded his black cloak from his form, once he had finished bathing he got dressed, this time in a dark-blue sleeveless t-shirt that used a zipper instead of buttons, and long black pants similar to what members of Soldier's 1st division wore but instead of tucking his pants into his boots like the members of Soldier did he let them hang on the outside of his dark brown boots. Despite his hair being wet, there were still tuffs that chose to stand out.

He left his apartment shortly after getting dressed. Walking through the streets at night the blue-eyed swordsman was surprised to see there was so many people out, the streets were crowded, it was nearly impossible for vehicles to pass through the streets. He made his way to the central square of Midgar, where the Shin-Ra towers were located. The Shin-Ra towers were three colossal towers that Shin-Ra built at the centre of Midgar, it was also the central of the Shin-Ra empire, where the high senate would often meet to debate as well as the throne of the emperor and the offices of most officials.

Cloud made out Vincent standing at the edge of the square, he also saw several guards standing at the perimeter of the square, dressed in a white and black uniform. Vincent was in his Turk uniform and stood facing the Towers, Cloud approached him and stood beside him.

"So why am I here?" Cloud asked standing beside the Turk. His eyes also looking at the large towers.

"Should you attempt to confront Erobern Sie, then it would suit you best to familiarize yourself with, Bacchus, their leader Zack often comes here," Zack said.

"Bacchus?" Cloud asked confused.

"Yes, it's a special club located at the very top of the west most tower," Vincent explained.

"What separates this club from others?" Cloud asked another question.

"Everything," Vincent replied, "Normal people aren't allowed, no matter how wealthy, it's only for the youth of the Shin-Ra elite. It was first created by the emperor's son Rufus, well I'll let you see for yourself."

Both approached the entrance of the west most tower, two guards stood prohibiting them entry.

"Can we be of assistance?" One of them asked.

"Member of the Turks, Vincent Valentine," Vincent said as he offered them identification.

Both guards moved aside, Vincent motioned for Cloud to follow. Both walked towards the elevator, there weren't any words exchanged between either of them.

"Top floor?" Cloud asked once they were within the elevator.

"It's not that simple," Vincent replied.

"How so?" Cloud asked.

Vincent stood in front the control panel, there was a screen displaying the current floor as well as two arrow buttons pointing up and two pointing down, obviously for changing floors. There were also buttons for each ten floors as well as one labeled '- -', he pressed the '- -', then floor ten, the elevator remained unmoved, but both buttons remained lit up, he then pressed the button for floor '0', the lights on the other buttons died down and a new light on the button for the top floor came on, Vincent then proceeded to press the button for the top floor.

"A combination code, smart," Cloud commented.

The elevator moved, but not up, it seems to made a 180 degree turn, Cloud looked on as the internal elevator became an external elevator, now there was a glass pane in front both of them, without a warning it shot up the side of the building, however there was no g-force to be felt. In a matter of seconds the elevator came to a halt. To door behind them opened and both men stepped out.

"Here we are," Vincent said.

They both stood on top a small rectangular platform, there were staircases that arched down on both sides, they looked down to see the main bar, it formed an arch, the area wasn't to filled but there was a fair share of people there.

"Come on, I'll see about getting you a pass," Vincent said.

"Who are we going to get that from?" Cloud asked.

"Sephiroth, Lucrecia's son, he's usually here on Fridays," Vincent answered.

"Sephiroth you mean, the child-general?" Cloud's tone remained unchanged.

The crimson-eyed Turk turned his head to his companion, "The one and the same."

To Be Continued…

* * *

This chapter was shorter than the 1st, but I do hope you still enjoyed it, as for the late update, well you'll have to forgive me for that. This fic is still in it's infancy stage, so there is more to go. It's primarily a CloudxTifaxSephiroth love triange, but thrown in with war, conspiracy and a whole lot of other stuff. For Tifa's outfit in this chapter,it's something similar to Ashley's alternate costume from Resident Evil 4...well actually it's supposed to be the same. If you read this chapter, how about some feed back, only takes a few seconds.  



	3. Birth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy**** VII any of it's characters or references**

Sorry for this fic taking so long to update. Warning major SephTi in this chapter, so please go on read and enjoy

**Chapter 3:**

…_Birth…_

This hadn't been Tifa's first time in a nightclub, but it had been the first time she had been in one like this. Both Aerith and herself had managed to sneak into a few others in the past, but even if they could have gotten away with sneaking into those others in the past actually getting into his club was would be near impossible. Firstly it was located on the top floor of one of the Shin-Ra towers, and with Shin-Ra security you'd be risking your life without proper clearance. Secondly she noticed there was a combination code to reach the club, and finally PN verification, or personal network verification. Each member of the club is assigned a small card, looking no different from a regular credit card, but she learnt from Sephiroth that when the card is first issued it is blank, only when it comes into contact with the host's skin does it become mapped to that specific host. Then it combines with the host's own electrical field to generate a unique imprint, similar to a fingerprint that allows the doors to the club to be opened. The only way to gain entry is to be issued one of these cards, or to be in the company of one who had been issued.

When she had first arrived at the top floor Sephiroth had handed her, her own card. Tifa was surprised to say the least. For starters she was underage, and wasn't allowed into nightclubs, but here she was being issued membership only adhered to Shin-Ra's most elite.

Tifa didn't have time to notice her surroundings, all she knew was that Sephiroth was guiding her through the crowd, eventually she came to a small hallway, it's wasn't crowded like the rest of the area but there were people at certain points, some were drinking, some talking and some making out. She watched her surroundings it was like being within a cave. Tifa's eyes focused to her front, she still saw Sephiroth, his back was facing her and his hand gently holding hers yet guiding her at the same time, she was walking a little behind him.

Soon they reached their destination, the cave passageway ended into a larger cavern. The walls still made of rock but this time there were modern luxuries within it. There were small cut out windows within the rock, a bar along the eastern side wall. Tifa looked to see someone on one of the large sofas there, lying on her side with her feet on the sofa was none other than her friend Aerith.

Aerith turned to the entrance to acknowledge Sephiroth's entrance only to see Tifa accompanying him, both girls eyes locked with one another, they were both stunned.

"Aerith!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Tifa!" Aerith also exclaimed with the same surprise in her voice.

Sephiroth's attention immediately turned to the two girls now staring at each other in shock, Zack who was sitting on a small couch next to Aerith stood up.

"What are you doing here?" the emerald-eyed female was the first to ask the lingering question.

"I could as you the same thing, is this were you are Friday nights?" Tifa questioned some of the previous shock still present.

Aerith lowered her head to hide both her embarrassment and shame, she turned to Sephiroth.

"I invited her here, since we're courting, well you know it's only natural," the boy-general stated.

Aerith turned back to Tifa, "Sorry Tifa, Zack brings me here nearly every Friday," Aerith confessed.

So now things started to clear up for Tifa, usually when she called Aerith up on Fridays her friend would make up an excuse not being able to go out with her. Tifa turned to Sephiroth, the older male could see anger present on her face, a quizzical expression immediately formed on his.

"Tifa, is something the matter?" Sephiroth asked.

She ignored him, turning her face from him and walking towards the largest sofa in the room. The one that sat facing the entrance and adjacent to the one Aerith was sitting on. As she passed Aerith she grabbed her friend by and hand half-dragging her along with her. Zack shot Sephiroth a questioning look, but the eerie-eyed male shrugged it off.

"So," Tifa began taking a seat on the soft. Aerith sat back on the one she was lying on earlier but was facing Tifa, "How long have you three been coming here every weekend?" Tifa asked.

Aerith was speechless, she didn't know how to answer the question, ever since the four of them; Zack, Sephiroth, Tifa and herself started hanging out together they sort of became a group, and Tifa thought so, however Tifa was left out of their Friday meetings.

_Flashback_

_3 years earlier_

"Tifa come on, hurry," Aerith called from the platform atop the train station. Tifa was below on the metal pathway leading to the platform Aerith was on. There were several other people waiting there for the train to arrive.

A young Tifa, barely reaching five feet ran up the pathway onto the platform. Aerith two years older than Tifa was only about an inch taller, dressed in a pink button-up dress, there were buttons running up the entire front of her dress, and nearly all were buttons, except for the top and bottom one. Aerith also had a long ponytail nearly reaching to her waist.

Tifa was dressed slightly differently with a tight orange-micro-skirt, and a fitted red-tinted top that clung to her, there were also no shoulders to her top although the front did reach to her neck where it connected with a leather strap that round it's way around her neck, the top half of her back was exposed but from midway was where the top joined with the rest, she also wore boots that reached to her knees. Her hair was similar to Aerith's only much shorter reaching to her shoulders with some falling on both sides of her temples.

"Why am I even here?" Tifa queried.

"Because mother would not let me go by myself," The older of the two females walked to the tip of the platform where the train would be arriving.

"Maybe you should tell Aunt Ifalna you have a boyfriend?" Tifa asked.

Aerith snapped around, "Tifa, no, mother wouldn't understand, she thinks I should wait until I'm older before I become intimate with someone of the opposite sex."

"And you disagree with this?" Tifa asked yet another question.

"Well it's just that, Zack, did I ever tell you how we met?" It was Aerith's turn to ask a question.

"Yes," Tifa answered slightly annoyed, "honestly, I started counting, then stopped, I don't even bother anymore."

"Oh well He recently got promoted from 3rd class Soldier to 2nd Class Soldier," Aerith stated.

Tifa's face had shock written all over it, "He's in Soldier already? And 2nd Class? Isn't Soldier Shin-Ra's elite unit?"

Aerith's face beamed with joy, it was obvious she was quite proud, "Yup," was all she managed to reply.

A powerful gust of wind suddenly flew by without warning, both girls were startled for a bit, but within the second they were startled, a high-speed train had appeared and docked at the station. It had a bullet design and painted in a dark green. There was only one door to each car, and they all opened at the same time. Only a few people stepped out, and a few stepped in. Out of all those who stepped out, two stood out both dressed in the outfit of Shin-Ra's 1st Class Soldier. Both of whom were young boys, one a little above five feet with long back hair with sharp edges, the other slightly taller than his companion, but his eyes were not like normal one's his pupils were slanted and his hair long flowing like silk and reaching down past his waist, there were also long sliver bangs that fell in front his face.

Tifa watched on as Aerith ran up to the dark-haired Soldier and frantically threw her arms around him, he responded by lifting her into the air and holding her tightly, his male companion standing behind him waiting patiently.

"Zack you're back," Aerith breathed with relief.

"Babe, I got some great news!" Zack said barely containing his excitement.

Tifa now approached the couple, " I made 1st class." The dark-haired Soldier said.

Aerith's eyes grew wide, she squeezed him tightly, tears of joy forming on her eyes began to form streams.

"Zack I'm so proud of you," Aerith whispered.

Zack released Aerith, "Actually it's not all on my own, I had Sephiroth's help," Zack said.

With the last statement, the silver-haired man stepped forward, "Oh, hey Tifa," Zack said awkwardly scratching behind his head smiling at her.

"Hey, Zack congratulations," Tifa said.

The ruby-eyed maiden's eyes now turned to the other 1st Class Soldier.

Sephiroth's eerie eyes were now on both Aerith an Tifa, "Sephiroth, it's a pleasure." He said calmly.

"Come one, let's go out to celebrate," Zack said, "Sephiroth here is also a 1st Class Soldier and now he's gonna become a General."

Tifa's and Aerith's eyes were wide with shock, Sephiroth barely appeared to be older than Zack and Zack was only fifteen. Aerith extended her hand to Sephiroth.

"You have my gratitude," Aerith said.

Sephiroth gracefully took her hand, "It was nothing, Deepground, well they're not very organized," Sephiroth explained, he then turned to Tifa who was awkwardly staring at him. Once he release Aerith's hand he turned to the youngest member of the group.

Immediately after realizing he was facing her Tifa snapped out of her daze, she shut her eyes and bowed her head, "I'm Tifa Lockheart," She said.

"Alright now that introductions are over let's go celebrate, hope you guys don't mind but I invited Sephiroth along with us." Zack stated.

"Zack we aren't going that restaurant again, are we?" Tifa asked slightly annoyed.

"Yeah even I'm getting a little tired of it," Aerith added.

"Aww, come on, they got the best steak I've ever eaten," Zack replied.

"That's cause' you never tried any at any other restaurant," Tifa put in.

"Come on, be a sport," Zack tried to persuade them again.

"Fine," Both girls admitted defeat together.

It had only taken then about half and hour to arrive at the restaurant, which wasn't a fancy or expensive one. It was a plain restaurant that was open most of day and offered various meals but was also renovated to give the place a higher-class feel. There were two long sofa like seats on opposite sides of the rectangular table, there were several more of these arrangements that ran in front one another. There was also a bar located at the absolute end of the room. They had already given their order and were waiting for the waitress to return with their meals. Aerith and Zack were on one seat with Sephiroth and Tifa on the other.

Sephiroth was silent with his eyes closed and he leant back on the seat. Zack was whispering something into Aerith's ear making her giggle. Tifa was occasionally stealing glances at Sephiroth. Despite trying to be as discrete as possible without him knowing the young Soldier could feel when she would glace at him. He was not alien to such glances from the opposite sex. He could feel a dryness rise in his throat and now desperately needed something to drink. Sephiroth opened his eyes to see that now Aerith, Tifa and Zack were engaged in a conversation. Tifa was sitting at the edge of the seat while he was sitting on the inside close to the wall.

"Excuse me," He said addressing Tifa.

The young girl turned to him, immediately recognizing he wanted to move she got out of his way.

"Is something the matter?" Tifa asked.

"No it's alright," Sephiroth replied, "I just need to go get a drink."

"Oh well, both myself and Aerith are going to go get drinks from the bar, perhaps we could bring back something for you," Tifa said.

"I really don't want to…" He was cut off.

"We're going there anyway, plus we have to bring back something for Zack, might as well tell us what you want," She said convincingly.

"Well if you insist, just a water would be fine," Sephiroth replied.

Both girls got up and walked towards the bar, Sephiroth returned back to his seat.

"You okay?" Zack asked.

"I'm fine, just dreading returning back home today," Sephiroth replied.

"You and your folks not close?" Zack asked another question.

"I don't know," The silver-haired boy said.

"You don't know?' Zack mimicked, the response peaked his curiosity.

"Haven't really seen much of my father, he's still married to my mother, but I don't know he's always off doing something as for my mother, she always takes an interest but well it's kinda awkward between us," Sephiroth explained.

"She get's in your way?" the dark-haired boy asked.

"She never wanted me to enter Soldier, I guess she wanted me to take her place in the senate, I can tell she cares but well I don't know," Seph answered.

Sephiroth looked up to see Tifa returning carrying her drink and a bottle of water, Aerith with her and Zack's drinks. At that time, a waitress carrying a tray was also approaching the table at which the four occupied. Someone called out to her, she turned her head to acknowledge the person but still walking forward not watching where she was going bumped into Tifa who was now about to sit, the waitress was able to save the meals on the tray but the ruby-eyed girl fell forward, both her and Sephiroth's drinks were opened. The drinks lost themselves from her grasp as she lost her balance, before Sephiroth could respond both drinks fell into his hitting his chest causing the liquid to erupt from it's container and onto him. It then bounced off him and onto the seat where it continued to spill onto his pants.

Almost instantly Sephiroth got up, but not to clean himself off but to catch Tifa as she fell forward. Tifa didn't know what happened but as she collected herself she found herself in a very uncomfortable position, she looked up to see Sephiroth supporting her. Immediately she broke away, but quickly saw that his clothes were wet both with her orange drink and his water.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Tifa quickly began apologizing while bowing her head in rapid succession.

Both Aerith and Zack were left with shocked expressions on their faces as they saw the series of rapid events that led to Tifa's apologizing. While Tifa was still apologizing to Sephiroth, he took his hand placed it under her chin and lifted her face so she could look at him. She was surprise when he didn't appear angry but rather had a smirk on his lips.

"Don't worry about it, you got nothing to apologize for, okay cutie," Sephiroth said with his hand still under her chin, he trailed it across her right cheek before breaking contact and making his way to the restroom.

Tifa was let speechless, she didn't even know when one of her hands found their way to her cheek where he had touched her nor did she notice the pink tinge that had crept onto her cheeks watching hin as he walked away.

_End Flashback_

Sephiroth sat on the same sofa that Tifa was seated on, Tifa was still waiting for a reply from Aerith when she felt Sephiroth reach over and touch her shoulders. She stiffened immediately at the contact of both their skin.

"Tifa don't be angry," The nineteen-year-old general said in a quiet, calm but surprisingly slightly sad tone.

Mustering her inner strength and courage she shrugged him off. Once she finished she felt him grab hold of her shoulders and turn her to face him, she couldn't respond as the next thing she knew both pairs of lips were locked together. Her hands were on his chest, she wanted to push him away but he still held her firm, eventually Sephiroth deepened the kiss, Tifa felt the little resolve she had to break the kiss fade away into the atmosphere, acknowledging the requests of his tongue, she parted both her lips.

Aerith sighed in relief. Zack collapsed on the space right next to her. As close as they were, this was not a place where Tifa should be, Aerith and Zack stared into each others eyes, all three of them had agreed to it, but not it seems that Sephiroth had gone against the decision they all made together.

Sephiroth's hands trailed across Tifa's exposed back as they both hungrily devoured each other's lips. Tifa had repositioned herself so she now sat on his lap, with one of her hands around his neck and another pressed against his chest, both of his hands were around her waist dancing across her back. There were only the four friends in this enclave, and both Zack and Aerith were just as involved with each other as Sephiroth and Tifa was.

---------------

It had been some time since Vincent was at Bacchus, but he knew of Sephiroth's personal space, actually finding it though, that was a problem, though at the entrance there weren't much people but at other parts there were a stark contrast. Occasionally Vincent would find his shoulder colliding with another person's or he would find himself accidentally breaking up a conversation. Finally however both he and Cloud were at the same cave passageway the Sephiroth and Tifa were at earlier.

The walk to the end wasn't long there was there within a fairly short period of time. Cloud took note of the people that were situated within the passageway. Finally they arrived at the small enclave.

Sephiroth stopped kissing Tifa when he heard two pairs of footsteps. Tifa was slightly surprised when Sephiroth stopped kissing her, both also noticed that both Zack and Aerith had stopped also. Sephiroth's expression also seemed to change. She slid off him to sit on his right side. She looked to the front to see two males standing in front Sephiroth she recognized Vincent however there was another male that accompanied him. He appeared only slightly older than her with deep blue eyes and blond spiky hair.

"Sephiroth," Vincent said in front of him.

"What brings you here today Vincent?" Sephiroth asked, "And who's your friend?"

Vincent moved aside and motioned for Cloud to step forward with his eyes.

Cloud acknowledged, "Cloud Strife," he said in a calm detached tone.

'_So this is the leader of Erobern Sie'_ Cloud spoke in his mind.

Sephiroth sat back on the sofa, "What can I do for you?" He asked bluntly.

"Admittance," Cloud answered in the same tone.

A smirk crossed Sephiroth's face, "Zack," The silver-haired male called his companion's name.

Zack took out something from his pocket, it was one of the ID cards but compressed within a piece of plastic. Zack looked at Sephiroth for acknowledgement, the child-general responded my nodding his head. Zack then extended his hand with the ID card towards Cloud.

"You'll have to remove the plastic and then connect your skin to it for it to be activated and map itself to you," Sephiroth explained.

Cloud did as he was instructed, peeling off the plastic and then his fingers connecting with the thin piece of metal.

Once Cloud was finished, Sephiroth turned to Vincent "Is that all?" Sephiroth asked.

"You have my gratitude," Vincent said before turning towards the exit, "by the way your father's home."

Sephiroth sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the cavern it made of the same type of rock that they were standing on, "That has nothing to do with me," he said in a tired voice.

Vincent had already begun his exit, Cloud followed, but when he was halfway between the exit and the seat where Sephiroth and Tifa sat, he stopped suddenly, pausing for a brief second his face angled towards Tifa's direction but he didn't turn to face her. Tifa herself didn't notice he had stopped, it only took a few seconds before Cloud could catch back up with Vincent.

"Well that went better than expected," Vincent told Cloud.

"How so?" Cloud asked.

"Well I almost expected that I had to request it on your behalf, I didn't expect him to just give it to you so easily," The crimson-eyed Turk confessed.

"Well I got it now, that's what matters," Cloud replied.

"Yeah I guess so," Vincent finished.

---------------

Sephiroth had tuned to Tifa once both males had begun their exit, he also didn't notice when Cloud stopped mid-step. Tifa was about to say something when his lips captured her's, if wasn't filled with the same hunger as their previous ones but it still held passion, their lips were barely together for a half a minute before Sephiroth pulled away. He didn't pull away quickly, but only an inch away from her face.

"Why don't you go get a drink with Aerith, there's something I want to talk to Zack about," Sephiroth spoke.

Tifa looked over her companions' shoulder to see Aerith already situated at the bar preparing herself a drink. Knowing it was something serious and had to do with their previous visitors Tifa was a bit reluctant but still took her leave of his company.

Zack was standing at the opposite corner of the bar along the western wall, he pressed against a piece or rock that was jutting out. Then pieces off the wall began to move, and a series of five arch-shaped windows were formed. The room became filled with the blaring techno music and echoed down into the hallway. Zack looked down, to see the dance floor compact with people. He dark-haired Soldier took notice when his superior approached and stood beside him.

"Was that necessary?" Zack asked.

"I thought it would be interesting, you didn't recognize him didn't you?" Sephiroth asked.

"Should I?" Zack asked back.

"His surname, Strife, sound familiar?" Sephiroth asked.

Zack turned to his companion with a dumbstruck expression on his face, "You don't mean Genesis…" He was cut off.

"I not making any assumptions, but he's about the right age, they bare the same surname, it can't be a coincidence, there were rumors that spread after Genesis's disappearance that he left behind and offspring…if it does turn out to be him..." Sephiroth explained.

"Is this a sign from God or a message from the Devil?" Zack asked.

"There's one more thing, doesn't his description match someone?" Sephiroth asked.

Zack paused for a second to think, "You don't mean!" Zack almost shouted. Tifa and Aerith caught the rise in Zack's tone and looked at him, he nodded his head for them to go back to what they were doing which they did.

"Yes, that child is the Black Angel," Sephiroth said, "Surely you felt the pulsing energy radiating from him, blond-spiky hair with a short ponytail, crystal-like blue eyes," The silver-haired general went on, "I didn't believe it at first, until I heard his surname, it would made perfect sense for the offspring of Genesis to posses the power that made him perform those feats that made him known as the Death Seraph in the Mideel regions and then went on to become the Black Angel."

"Sephiroth if this is true then…." Zack was cut off.

"We must have him join Erobern Sie," Sephiroth stated "If Deepground finds out about him…well let's just say they shouldn't."

---------------

Cloud and Vincent stood atop a sheltered staircase, Vincent was looking down at the dance floor beneath him, Cloud was leaning up against a pole. Both hand a glass in their hands with different drinks, Vincent's one was clear like water, while Cloud's was looked like blood.

"You know, aside from getting entry, there isn't anything I've seen, that I haven't seen before, what makes this place so different?" Cloud said. Despite the loud music that was playing and various other conversations being held by other people he spoke in his regular tone. It wasn't so loud to deafen out his words.

"And that's the way, they would like it to be," Vincent replied.

"They?" Cloud asked.

"The Turks, this place serves a special purpose for them aside from entertainment," Vincent explained, "And one other thing, look at your drink."

Cloud looked at it, "Nothing seems wrong." He replied.

"Look closer, "Vincent stated.

Cloud did as instructed, focusing his eyes on the drink, then he noticed something a green tint within the red drink. He looked at Vincent puzzled, "What's that?" He asked.

"That's Mako," The dark-haired male answered, "This is the only place where drinks are spiked with mako, since Shin-Ra has a monopoly on Mako, well it's impossible to find it anywhere else."

---------------

Lucrecia walked through the halls of the Shin-Ra building, dressed in long white dress reaching down to her ankles, with sleeves reaching to her wrists and a V-cut in front. On her feet she wore brown sandals. Her long reddish-brown hair was loose as she continued to her destination lost in thought.

"Lockheart, Lockheart? Where have I heard that name before?" She questioned herself.

Still lost in her thought, she only snapped out when she accidentally collided with the body of another.

Dismissing her current train of though, without ever looking at the person she bowed her head and began to apologize, "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"Lucrecia, are you alright?" She heard a familiar voice ask.

She looked up to see someone she was familiar with, "Lord Gast," she said with surprise, "What are you doing here at such late an hour?"

"The same question I can ask of you," He replied.

"Oh I'm here for a conference with the Emperor," Lucrecia quickly explained.

Gast was much larger that Lucrecia, he was as tall as Sephiroth but with broad arms. His eyes were a light shade of blue and his hair was grey. He also had a short beard what was also grey.

"So may I ask why you are here?" Lucrecia asked.

"I was just here to convene with Grimore, there's a troubling matter that has arisen, actually you being here could be a blessing, I would like to discuss this matter with you as well." Gast stated.

"It will have to wait, I'm due at the Emperor's conference room shortly, but is it so important that you would seek the council of two senate members?" Lucrecia asked.

Gast nodded, "Then I shall speak with you tomorrow."

The older man watched as he saw Lucrecia walk off, he walked across to the open end of the passage and looked up at the starlit sky, "My precious Ifalna and Aerith, If only I could be with you once more, but alas I am needed here to preserve balance" he confessed to the night his voice filled with sorrow ad remorse.

The doors to Emperor's Shinra's conference room opened. There was a large space before the desk, behind which sat the emperor, behind the table and chair large paines of glass that formed a wall. Lucrecia continued to walk along the marble floor but halted suddenly and sharply halfway in her tracks. There behind the desk, the Emperor lay slouched over the table. His eyes and mouth open, saliva leaking out his mouth onto the smooth furnished wood of his desk, a pool of crimson sated on the floor that traced it's way up the desk where it split into two streams one going underneath him the other soaked into the Emperor's robes trailing it's way onto his back where a katana lay embedded.

Lucrecia's eyes went wide with shock, the scream that followed was deafening.

To Be Continued...

* * *

Actually it's not long since I last updated...a little over two weeks, well almost three. Well lot's of SephTi in this chapter. Those who read some of my other work would know I prefer CloTi but I won't let that interfere with this fic and the SephTi part. I know it seems one sided now but the CloTi parts will start soon. Oh and as for Tifa's outfit in the flashback it's something similar to Karin's from Shadow Hearts(lol). Also as for the end paring, that's not going to be revealed till the absolute end. It may be Cloti, it may be SephTi, you'll just have to keep reading to see how everything plays out and how it ends. Oh yeah for those who don't know Erobern Sie is german for Conquer. Any comments, recommendations, flames? Please feel free to leave it as a review. 


	4. Prayer

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII any of it's characters and/or references and/or any other Final Fantasy reference either.

Well it's been a while since my last chapter, enjoy this one.

**Chapter 4:**

…_Prayer…_

Lucrecia looked around her current place of residence, hardly suitable for a member of the high council, the metal bars to the front were sturdy and didn't give weigh despite the amount of pounding she did. Frustrated and tired, she sat down on the wooden seat within her cell. There was a small window cut out on the wall behind her, it was near the top and three iron bars running vertical, she sat sideways on the wooden seat and raised her head to look out the window. Lucrecia sighed; it was still nighttime, she could make out the darkened sky as well as few tiny sparking stars, lowering her head her thoughts became occupied with that of her son.

"Sephiroth," She whispered to herself. Her voice was barely audible even to her own ears.

Just then the door to the room where the cells were opened, Lucrecia immediately stood up, still hoping she could leave this uncomfortable lodging. The guard who was dressed in a grey officer uniform with a helmet and a visor that covered his eyes entered into the room followed by a familiar face.

"Gast!" Lucrecia gasped.

The faceless soldier bowed in respect and left.

"Please tell me you have resolved this issue," Lucrecia said sadly.

"I'm so sorry Lucrecia, I was hoping to avoid this, but everything went according to Rufus's plan," Gast's voice held a solemn tone.

"Emperor Shinra?" Lucrecia enquired.

"He was already dead when by the time the guards arrived, it seems he had been dead for quite some time," Gast explained.

Lucrecia walked to the front of the cell, standing before Gast with only a few feet and iron bars separating them. "Gast, do you know what's going on?"

Gast sighed, "Unfortunately both myself and Grimore suspected something like this would happen, now the senate is in unrest and divided."

"The senate is in unrest?" Lucrecia asked surprised.

"Yes, Lucrecia unfortunately Rufus has accused you for the murder Emperor Shinra, and the crime of high treason," Gast explained.

"That's ridiculous, I had nothing to do with that, it was my scream that summoned the guards," Lucrecia countered.

"Lucrecia," Gast paused for a minute, "Both Grimore and myself suspect that it was Rufus who used the Turks to assassinate the emperor, and framed you for the murder, we both had our suspicions of Rufus's actions and hoped to prevent them but alas it was for naught."

"But it was the emperor himself who summoned me this evening."

"Except there was no call log made from the Emperor's personal line, you were set up by Rufus, he's likely the one who placed the call for you to be there for you to take the fall," Gast continued to explain.

Tears formed on Lucrecia's eyes, "Why?" She was barely able to ask.

"Lucrecia, the conviction has already gone through, Rufus has already declared himself the new emperor and your execution is set for tomorrow," Gast went on to explain.

"What about my son?" the female asked, "What happens to Sephiroth?"

"Well, they're trying to keep everything confidential, they have already issued you as missing, I doubt Rufus would do anything to jeopardize the loyalty of his strongest and most capable general, I assume they would try to plant evidence to make it look like you were kidnapped by Wutai to fuel Sephiroth's rage, then make it look like they executed you, they won't do anything to him, you were also against Sephiroth continuing to serve in the military, I guess executing you would enable Rufus to keep Sephiroth in servitude to the military," The elderly gentleman continued.

"What about the senate, I though we overruled the decision to go to war?" Lucrecia asked.

"We did, but now we're at a stale mate, myself and Grimore has voted against it, but Heidegger and Scarlet kept their previous decision and decided to go to war, that's why there were five members of the high council to prevent something like this, but in this specific case, the Emperor is allowed to cast the deciding vote and he voted for the war." Gast answered.

"We still have hope, we have to send a messenger to Wutai to meet with the Avalanche and Wutain leaders," Lucrecia explained.

Gast was a bit startled that Lucrecia had already grasped the situation, but immediately calmed back down, this was no time to act surprised, "Do you have anyone we can trust?"

"Yes, also we can delay the order to go to war, by selecting another person to replace me," Lucrecia stated.

Gast placed both his hands on the bars, "Lucrecia do you know what you are saying?" his voice was mixed with sorrow and surprise

"Yes, but I'm going to be executed tomorrow anyway, if another senate member is elected we can prevent the war before it even starts, do you know of any candidate?"

"There's only one I know of with the capability and understanding, Reeve Tuesti," Gast answered.

"Good, the only problem now getting him elected, I'll leave that to you," Lucrecia finished.

Just then the door burst open, the guard was sent flying into the room and collided with the bars of an empty cell and passed out. An exhausted and tired Vincent rushed into the room. Lucrecia's eyes became fixed on him.

"Vincent," She whispered.

Gast also turned to acknowledge the young Turk. Vincent's eyes immediately found Lucrecia.

"Grimore's son?" Gast mused. He turned to Lucrecia, "Lucrecia, I'm sorry things ended up this way; I'll go speak with Reeve. Farewell my friend."

"Farewell Gast."

Lucrecia nodded and watched as he left. She exhaled a sad sigh, it would be the last time she would see him alive.

Vincent past Gast without exchanging glances and made his way to Lucrecia's cell.

"Lucrecia, what happened?" Vincent asked, his voice filled with fear and concern.

Lucrecia smiled a sad smile, "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I'm getting you out of here!" Vincent declared, as he removed his gun from within his jacket, a three barreled gun named Cerberus.

"Vincent stop!" Lucrecia ordered, her voice firm, similar to how she spoke with Gast and also commanding.

Vincent ceased his action immediately, Lucrecia's eyes calmed themselves.

"Where is Hojo?" She asked.

Vincent nodded his head, "He's returning to his lab in Nibelheim." The young Turk answered. He leant forward on the bars, hands resting on the same bars Lucrecia's hands were on, only slightly above hers.

"Vincent I have a request to ask of you?" Lucrecia asked solemnly, bowing her head slightly.

"I'm here to serve you," Vincent answered.

Lucrecia looked up at him and smiled, "With my conviction I am no longer a member to the high senate, so you are no longer under my employ, but Vincent, I have one request to ask of you."

Vincent stared at her with sad eyes. "I don't care, I still choose to serve you."

"I need you to go to Wutai and meet your acquaintance Angeal," Lucrecia instructed.

"Angeal, why?" The crimson-eyed youth questioned.

"In order to prevent war, you must tell him all what have happened, of Rufus's betrayal, the senate's decision to go to war and of my execution."

Vincent remained silent, after a few seconds he spoke, "I'm not going to let you be executed, I'll get you out of here."

"Vincent please, you have to understand, for Sephiroth, I don't want him to end up being a tool of war, to make him regret something he will do, for my sake carry out my last request." Lucrecia pleaded with him.

Vincent remained silent he bowed his head and rested it on the bars before him his hands traveling down further to meet Lucrecia's as soon as they touched, their fingers intertwined.

"Why did you marry him?" Vincent asked quietly.

Lucrecia closed her eyes and leant forward on the bars also, only the metal rods prevented their foreheads from touching.

"Hojo?" She asked, "It was never about love between us, ours was an arranged marriage between our houses, but Hojo was always too interested with his experiments, you know, he never saw Sephiroth, his own son till he was three."

"Lucrecia…I'm sorry, I won't let you die!" Vincent said firmly.

"Vincent please, the coming war must be averted, Angeal must know Shin-Ra has already given the order to go to war."

Their fingers separated as Vincent stood back, "Still, I'll deliver the message, but I won't give up on you, Lucrecia I'll find a way to save you," He said with desperation.

"Please hurry," Lucrecia pleaded.

Vincent made his way towards the exit, a tear began to trail down her cheek as she watched him turn to face her one more, he whispered the word farewell before exiting. Once he left, the brown-haired female went over to the dirty seat, this time she clasped her hands together and squeezed her eyelids shut, her mouth began moving as she started whispering a soft prayer only she could hear.

---------------

Cloud rolled along his bed, the morning sunlight having a clear path into his room. Even though his eyes were tightly shut, it still made sleeping difficult, he pulled the navy blue sheets up over his head to cover his eyes and turned on his side away from the sunlight, but yet even then its rays made sleeping difficult. He rolled across his bed some more, until his body still entangled with the sheets came crashing down onto the floor. Yet still unfazed he put his hand up to the bed and pulled down a pillow, resting it beneath his head on the floor he tried to go back to sleep.

"I'm not getting up, I have to start classes at the Shin-Ra institute tomorrow, this is my last day to sleep in late, so I'm staying right here," Cloud protested to no one.

There was a brief interlude of silence before Cloud started to speak again.

"I don't care, how important it is, I'm not getting up!" He protested with more determination.

The interlude this time was shorter than before.

"See what you did, you awoke me, if I do this would you let me sleep the rest of the day?" He asked defeated.

Sighing the young male got up off the floor, his hair was even more of a mess than it usually was, some of his bangs stuck to his face, the tuffs that formed spikes all twisted, with only his long black pants on, he went into the washroom located across from his bed. About fifteen minutes later he emerged fully clothed, his long dark jeans, dark brown boots that had zippers instead of laces, and a sleeveless navy blue shirt that used a zipper instead of buttons, that zipper was almost fully zipped but stopped an inch short of the collar.

The seventeen-year old boy went over his room to a bare looking wall, despite three of the walls in his room serving alternate functions; one connected the bedroom to the small living room, the other hand two windows that sadly faced the direction of the morning sun, opposite that wall was the entrance to the bathroom. Only this wall was plain, but on the floor pressed against the wall was a long rectangular metal case. Cloud knelt down in front the case, it ran its length along the wall, unlatching the two latches facing him, he lifted the top half of the case. Within it, rested on red cushioned insides of the case was a sword. The blade was only about four feet with about half a foot running across and the grip one foot; the grip was radiant white. It didn't have any hilt but the blade expanded out where the hilt was supposed to be to form a sort of semi-hilt, at the edges where it formed the semi-hilt there were small golden rights that interlocked with each other to from a short chain but only for about four or five links.

Cloud lifted the sword from its case, as he stood up he placed the Heaven's Cloud on the holster behind him.

"Alright, let's get this over with," He said once again speaking to himself.

---------------

Several hours later.

Sephiroth sat behind his desk, his eyes on a file marked confidential, his elbows resting on the desk and his fingers interlaced with each other; his chin was resting on his interlaced fingers. Also on his desk, was a large brown envelope, written in bold red letters was the word CONFIDENTIAL. The young general's catlike eyes intently focused on the file, his expression of anger slowly building like that of a volcano.

However instead of erupting into a fit of anger, he sat back on his chair and sighed sadly.

"So, this is Rufus plan, Vincent…thanks," Sephiroth said softly, sadness also traced into his voice.

Leaving his seat behind him he walked out onto the balcony of his office, since he was near the top floor, from his current height he could see the outskirts of the city as well as the expansions being carried out.

The young general removed a phone from his pocket, flipping it open he dialed a number, placing it by his ear he waited for the person on the other end to answer, or rather he was hoping they would and sure enough after three rings the voice a female answered.

"Hey Seph, it odd for you to be calling me when you're in the office, is something wrong?" The girl asked.

"Tifa, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to meet you tonight, something urgent has come up that requires my attention," The silver-haired male explained.

There was a brief moment of silence before Tifa replied.

"Is something wrong?" She asked concerned.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Sephiroth answered.

"Are you sure, you know you can always talk to me," Tifa stated.

"Yeah, I know, it's just some Shin-Ra business, I have to go now," He said eager to conclude to conversation, he didn't want his sorrow and anger he was experiencing to enter the conversation, and one thing Tifa was good at was picking up on others emotions and the last thing he wanted was her worrying about him.

"Well, okay then, please take care Sephiroth," Tifa said affectionately.

"Yeah, you too, keep safe."

"I'll miss you," Tifa finished.

"As will I, but I'll see you soon, okay," And with those final words the child general terminated the call.

He passed his hand through his long silver hair once; disturbing his long bangs, but it immediately back into place. He walked back into his office, rested on the wall behind his desk was a long katana. The sword was inside its sheath but it blade itself was five feet long and the grip two feet. The grip of the sword was as black as coal as was the sheath. Removing the sword from its vertical stand he pulled it out a little from its sheath and glanced at the blade. It was easy to see the difference in the colour that highlighted the edged side; the young general was also able to see his own reflection in the blade.

"My friend, I have need of your services."

With those words he whipped the sword around behind him so it fell into place on the small holster that was barely recognizable at the back of his long black trench coat, but once there it fitted perfectly. The child-general turned towards the exit of his office, he lowered his head, his eyelid closing in the process.

"I won't abandon you mother, I won't let them kill you."

--------------

Lucrecia was taken from her cell and escorted by two guards through a series of hallways until she came to a large opening; the two guards took positions on both sides of the entrance. Taking a deep breath she passed between them, shielding her eyes from sudden contrast of light she soon realized she was in a small oval shaped room, similar to that of a coliseum, only much smaller. There were circular rings on the metal floor, each ring within another with the smallest at the center, taking another deep breath she stepped within the smallest ring at the very center.

As she looked up before her on an elevated platform a dozen feet above her, she saw Rufus and the other senate members looking down at her. On his right side there was Scarlett and Heidegger, on the left Gast and Grimore. The new appointed emperor stepped forward if he was standing at the very front of the platform. He was dressed in red robes with golden laces on it. He was younger than her, probably about Vincent's age, he had short light brown hair with long bangs similar to Sephiroth's, his eyes were a piercing blue with malice easily seen within them.

"Lucrecia Crescent, you have been charged with the crime of high treason; for the murder of the previous Emperor, you have been sentenced to burn. May the flames that ashen your corpse serve as a prologue to the eternal damnation that awaits you in Lucifer's domain," The emperor said.

Lucrecia tried hard not to show any emotion, she didn't even look at him one he began his speech, she faced forward and kept her eyes facing forward. Tears refused to fall, instead she was whispering a soft prayer, for her son to be safe.

"Sephiroth, please forgive me if I wasn't a good mother to you, but I tried my hardest, I really did, please be safe my son," Lucrecia said so that only herself could hear.

Sephiroth approached from the rear entrance to the execution grounds. There were two guards fully uniformed in metal armor from head to toe in standing on either side, not acknowledging them he proceeded to walk towards the entrance, both guards were startled to see the general approaching them.

"Uhh, general," One of them spoke, "I'm sorry but we cannot allow you to pass, we have specific orders, you need proper clearance."

He silver-haired youth's hand went to the grip of his katana, there was a small click that was heard when he pulled his hand forward only a small bit causing a small part of the sword to become unsheathed. Both guards didn't have time to be startled, the flash of lightening would be a snail to hare that was Sephiroth's swipe. As he walked into the entrance, his katana was back in it's sheath, the bodies of both guards fell behind him, as both bodies hit the floor their top half began to slide down a bit due to the uneven contour of the land, however from their waist down remained unmoved.

As he stepped into the darkened hallway, the eerie-eyed youth burst into a quick run, "Hold on mother, I'm almost there," He said to himself.

Cloud was standing on top the execution grounds. He was on the ceiling far above where Rufus and the rest of the council stood. He looked down into the open area where he saw a middle-aged woman in a dirty white dress, standing at the center of the open area.

"Is that her?" Cloud asked.

There was a quick silence, "Explain to me why I am doing this again?"

Again silence. Then he heard the order for the execution to be given from Rufus who was below.

Lucrecia clenched her fists tightly, she had just heard Rufus give the order to begin the execution, she had remained silent the whole time, even if she was to speak it would not change anything, at the very least she could die with honor. She watched the metal floor below her change shape and four vents came up at the four primary cardinal points, all the while still whispering her soft prayer.

'_So this is it, my death'_ She thought to herself '_I wonder how much it will hurt'_

But those were the last thoughts of herself, as she prepared to face her inevitable fate she whispered: "Sephiroth, Vincent." Then the flames from the vents rose up.

Sephiroth burst through the corridors; he cursed himself for not being familiar with the layout of the execution grounds despite being a general. Occasionally he would be greeted with a dead-end but quickly retraced his steps, it was like an underground maze. his heart-rate was considerably increased, he could hear it pounding in his chest, fear, anxiety, worry all fueling it. Once he got familiar with the layout due to numerous trial and error attempts he was now down the corridor that lead to the execution chamber, he saw two guards standing at the entrance, once they saw him approaching they treated him as in intruder and quickly drew their weapons in a vain attempt to stop him, but their bodies immediately fell lifeless and dropped onto the floor as they attempted to approach him. As he looked into the passage way, he could feel his heart-rate decrease; his mother was still standing there, her palms clenched.

"Mother," Sephiroth sighed in relief.

Cloud was still looking down as he saw the vents the woman was standing on open up, "Wait, what? You want me to save her?" He questioned the unheard voice.

No reply.

"I thought you brought me here to witness this not interfere!" He protested.

Again silence.

"Fine, I still don't see the point of doing this, but if it's important for her to live," He finished.

The spiky-blond-haired youth took out a glowing red orb from his belt, there were several of these on glowing orbs on his belt, but they were hidden behind metal plates that surrounded his belt. The orb was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. It began to glow even more brightly with a blood red light. Cloud then tossed it up into the air, the rose a few feet above him before it started to fall.

Sephiroth could barely react, he saw the flames rise up, the tried to act, every muscle in his body ached to move but it seemed that there were weights placed on them and his limbs were chained. A single tear formed on his eye and streamed down his cheek.

"Mother," The young silver-haired general managed to whisper as he saw her body become engulfed in hell fire. His body fell numb, coldness embraced him as yet another tear formed.

The glowing red orb began it's decent in front Cloud, it fell past his eyes, his nose, it traveled further down but as it reached in front his lips…

"Come forth…Typhoon," Cloud whispered.

Then almost instantly the colour from the orb vanished and it weightlessly and effortless burst into thousands of tiny glass fragments. Cloud the turned around and began his decent off the ceiling.

The flames reached up towards Lucrecia, to char her skin, but for a split second before it did, she saw something floating in front here eyes, a small green figure with two big eyes, hovering in front of her, it was so small if it wasn't here before her she wouldn't have noticed.

Then everything went black.

---------------

Lucrecia's eyes fluttered a bit, they felt heavy although she was not tired. She felt something soft beneath her, gently passing her hand along whatever she laid upon she soon realized it was grass. Then she heard the rustling of tree leaves being blowing by the wind. She sat up and forced her eyes to open, what she saw came as a shock; it was late evening, the sky was parse with clouds, yet the setting sun still set the sky aflame with brilliant yellow and red she was sitting in an open meadow below a tree, the grass was barely reaching her ankles. After quickly viewing her surrounding she heard a voice.

"So you're finally awake," A male voice said.

She realized it came from the other side of the tree, though it pained to move her body she attempted to stand. The figure who sat on the other side of the tree however came around before she could get up. She looked up at the new figure as if she was looking at an ethereal creature.

"Am I dead?" She asked.

The boy with hair like a chocobo sat down in front of her, "Does it look like you're dead?" He asked.

She nodded, "how did I come to be here, I thought I…" She was cut off.

"Sorry about that, I'll explain everything but first you must be hungry, here," He said offering her a loaf of bread within a brown paper bag.

Lucrecia took the bag from him gracefully but once she had it in her hands, she slid part of the bag down so the bread came into view. She quickly began gobbling it up, it felt good to have something in her stomach, she was imprisoned for over a day and they haven't fed her since.

"So, what happened?" she managed to ask between bites.

"Well firstly, my name is Cloud, and secondly you're not dead," The body said.

Lucrecia swallowed, "Lucrecia Crescent, It would seem that you were the answer to my prayers," She said then bowed.

Cloud smirked, "Did you see a small green creature in front of you?" He asked.

Lucrecia nodded, "Yes it appeared out of no where and was so small."

Cloud smirked, "That was Typhoon, a summon creature."

Lucrecia nearly choked on air, "A summon creature!" She gasped, "Impossible!"

"Very possible, Typhoon is the wind elemental summon, though small, it can command winds that would make those of a hurricane seem like a gentle zephyr, he can also move large distances instantly using these winds, it was these same winds that transported you out of the execution chamber and here as soon as you were to become engulfed," Cloud explained, "To everyone it would seem that you had died and your body incinerated beyond ash, unfortunately your body cannot stand up to the speed that Typhoon travels at so that's why you passed out an is in a lot of pain now, don't worry it'll pass."

"So you saved me?" Lucrecia asked, "But what were you doing there? And why did you save me?"

Cloud sighed and looked up at the sky, "It wasn't me, I don't know who you are, or why you were being executed, all I know is that you are important to the future and must live."

Lucrecia was confused by his remark, her facial expression showed it, and "What do you mean?"

"You can only find that out by moving forward," Cloud replied before standing up, "I would advise against returning to Midgar, you're supposed to be dead, we're already near Kalm," He explained and pointed to a worn out dirt passageway, "If you follow that path it would only take about half and hour to reach to Kalm."

The pain in her body was slowly receding, following Cloud's suite she also stood up, "I'm sorry but I have to return to Midgar, my son is there."

"You can do whatever you want, but I guess you already know what's important and what you have to do," Cloud replied.

Suddenly realization hit her, "Wait Wutai, I have to get there, I must prevent the coming war."

"Well I guess you should go to Kalm first, you can get a carriage to Junon where you can take a ferry and cross the ocean, I suggest you hurry, it's getting late and hounds patrol this path at night."

Lucrecia bowed her head in respect.

"Kind, sir you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, but I'm afraid here is where we part ways," Lucrecia said solemnly.

Lucrecia left Cloud and walked onto the dirt road, she took a few steps to her destination before turning back and waving to Cloud, she was also facing the direction of Midgar, "Sephiroth, my son, please forgive me, but this is something I must do, to protect you, to protect the future, I won't let you become a tool of Rufus, so please I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." Once she finished whispering her words she turned her attention to the path before her.

Cloud nodded and watched as she walked away, he continued to watch her as she disappeared down the path making sure she could walk properly as she made her way along the dirt path he also prepared to leave. By this time the sun had already set, but night remained wary, there was still the orange tint left behind by the sun that would soon fade.

---------------

It was almost eight pm. when Cloud returned to his apartment, he sighed heavily as he made his way up the steps, tired and annoyed from the days events and the fact he had wasted his last free day he walked down the silent corridor to his apartment at the end. As he did however a new sight caught his attention. It was a girl about his age, with long black hair; she was opening the door to the apartment that was opposite his. Soon he was standing a few feet away from her, she turned to face him out of precaution, they he saw her eyes, they were like two small rubies. Somehow he got the feeling like he had seen her before, she seemed familiar. He awkwardly raised his hand to greet her.

"Uhh…hey," Cloud muttered.

The ruby-eyed maiden rolled her eyes at him, without saying anything she entered into her apartment and closed the door behind her.

"Hello, I'm Cloud," The words came out after she had left.

To Be Continued…

* * *

For those who don't know the sword Cloud uses, the Heaven's Cloud is from the original Final Fantasy 7, it's his third strongest sword in the game, I thought it was fitting to put it in. The summon Typhoon is also not my creation, I got that summon from anime Final Fantasy Unlimited. Oh and sorry Silent, I tried to meet your challenge but was unable to, terribly sorry. If you read this chapter, you can leave a review...or not, it's your choice entirely. I only hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Till next time...


	5. Prelude

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, any of it's characters and/or references.

Well it's been a while since I last updated hasn't it? I'm so sorry about that, but I'm back now with a new chapter, hope you enjoy, and hopefully updates will become quicker. Well enjoy.

**Chapter 5:**

…_Prelude…_

Just like the day before, the sun's rays entered into the room of the Cloud Strife, and just like before he had chosen not to heed it, instead pulling his blanket over his head to try to get in some more sleep, but once again the brilliant rays were nonnegotiable, and sleep was proving difficult, so the young boy did the next best thing. He decided to roll along the bed to where the sun's rays couldn't meet him, but eventually his foolish action led him into a rude collision with the floor of his apartment. He sighed as he pulled the blanket from over his head, his blond hair came sneaking out from its confines.

"I really have to get a bigger bed," He said sighing to himself.

His hand went up to his bedside table and sloppily knocked down his alarm clock, his eyes went wide when he saw the time.

"Shit, I'm gonna be late!" He exclaimed to himself, his body becoming instantly awake and making a quick dash for the bathroom.

About fifteen minutes later the blond-haired boy emerged from his apartment fully clothed in his usual attire. He pulled out his phone to look at the time, it was already past nine, he was obviously late for his first day at school, and to top it off it was not like he had his own method of transport to try to get there on time. He sighed again thinking 'being late on your first day Strife, what a way to make a first impression'

He arrived at the Shinra institute half an hour later, since all students were already in class it was fairly empty and making it easy for him to navigate to his classroom. Eventually he reached there, the door was closed, and he stood outside and inhaled sharply. Strange feelings of awkwardness came over him, perhaps it was strange because it was all new to him and he was being thrown head-first.

"Remind me again why I'm doing this?" He asked himself.

There was an eerie silence that followed.

"Yes, but I hate feeling like a child," He answered a bit annoyed which resulted in him immediately pushing the door to the classroom open and entering not caring if he was disrupting the class.

As Cloud entered into the classroom all eyes turned on him, even the teacher stopped her action and looked at him. The classroom was different from what Cloud had initially expected, instead of individual desks and chairs; there was one desk and only around eight students in the class. The desk formed an arch with the center being furthest away from the teacher and the two ends being the closest and also going from one end of the room to the other. The teacher also stood in front a similar arch but was much smaller than one the students sat around and seemed to fit into the larger arch.

The teacher had short orange hair and green eyes, she had on a red skirt and jacket and over it a white lab coat, on her eyes she had on thin glasses and black shoes on her feet.

"Mr. Strife, so you did decide to attend class today," She said addressing him.

"Sorry, I got lost," Cloud replied not showing the slightest hint of emotion, making it sound like he was not sorry at all.

The teacher glared at him for his insolence; however Cloud remained unfazed, there were too few things that could intimidate him and people were not on the list. Instead he was rather in a hurry to get over with this.

"I'm Shalua Rui, I will be the one responsible for making sure you are ready to take your place within the Shinra empire one day, so Mr. Strife please be on time," Her voice was cold as she spoke it was clear she wasn't a very nice teacher, she then turned to the class and then to Cloud, "please introduce yourself."

Cloud turned to the class, there were only eight students but he didn't care, he spoke with the same emotionless voice, "Cloud Strife, it's a pleasure."

"Good now please take a seat," Shalua instructed.

There was only one free seat, at one of the ends of the arch near the window that overlooked the courtyard; Cloud took his seat without so much as replying. He turned his attention towards Shalua, meanwhile a pair of crimson orbs were locked on him. Near the center of the arch, Tifa sat with both Jessie and Biggs on wither side. She was almost certain she had seen him before, her eyes followed him as he went to take his seat but soon her attention was on Shalua who began to speak again.

"Alright, let's resume our topic of the formation of materia," She said.

Cloud sighed again; it was going to be a long day.

---------------

Rufus sat comfortably on his throne; it stood tall and overlooked his throne room. His eyes fixed on a small spherical crystal that he held in the palm of his hand, his thick red robes trailing down to the floor below the throne. He seemed intent on ignoring his three subjects that stood before him.

"Lord Rufus," The first person said, she was female, slightly tall a little below six feet with a slender build, her hair were like gold, and her eyes as green an emeralds, she wore thin black glasses and a long elegant red dress with a long slit running up her right leg and finally a pair of black high-heels on her feet.

Beside her there was another man, he was shorter than her but much larger also, he wore a green military outfit, similar to what a general wore, he had a short beard and short black hair, his eyes were as dark as his hair

Rufus's eyes turned to acknowledge her, "Scarlet, Heidegger" He said in a lazy voice.

Along with, with Scarlet and Heidegger, Gast was also present but made no attempt to make his presence known; he stood tall with slightly hunched shoulders in this long white lab coat and black pants.

"Where's Grimore?" Rufus asked quietly.

Scarlet and Heidegger turned their eyes to Gast, they glared at him, when Rufus saw this he also turned his attention solely to Gast, however Gast was not intimidated.

"My apologies but, he will be unable to attend, matters have arisen that require his attention," Gast spoke proudly.

Scarlet and Heidegger's attention turned back to Rufus, who merely shook his head in response, "Well that can't be helped then," Rufus replied.

"Rufus, what about the rebels," Scarlet immediately pressed the matter.

"Yes, they've been gathering too much power something must be done now!" Heidegger spoke with a commanding presence.

Gast made no objection, here he knew his efforts would be wasted, and his voice unheard, so he remained silent. Rufus rose from his seat and gracefully out-stretched both his hands on either side. His thick robes made it difficult to see his body, only his head was seen as well as his gloved wrists. Rufus remained calm, not bothering with his subjects. The large throne room was silent, rays of sunlight penetrated from the glass windows above the throne and shone down on the three council members. Rufus reveled in his own majesty, soon he would bring the entire planet under the control of the Shinra Empire, once the last free nation and the rebels have been dealt with his power would extend on everything he surveyed, the Shinra empire would be the one unrivaled, dominating power, such was his dream.

The small crystal orb he held in his hand fell from his grip and shattered with a loud explosion as it hit the floor aside the throne but it was like a ripple in a pond, no one paid any attention to it and the shattered crystal was quickly forgotten. Rufus finally spoke again, his voice detached and emotionless as ever.

"Very well, let's go to war."

---------------

Cloud finally felt relief as he exited the classroom, who knew studying materia and it's composition could be so boring, granted he was one level above those in his class since he could use them easily, but he still questioned himself on why he needed to know the makeup, he already knew how to use it and that is what was important, he didn't need to know how materia was formed and it's makeup contents. Well now he was getting some time off since it was lunchtime. He found an isolated seat away from the cafeteria and sat down, he closed his eyes and forced himself to relax trying to settle his nerves, and school life was just not for him, slowly his eyes opened back. He was all alone and it was silent, all the other students were elsewhere but he welcomed the silence and the pleasure of his own company because he had a lingering feeling that things weren't going to last peaceful for long.

"Yeah," the blond-haired boy said to the silent voice, "I know, but I just started today, it will have to wait to next week as to avoid suspicion."

There was a brief silent that followed before Cloud spoke again, "I understand, I'll leave at once," he said before standing up.

Tifa frustratingly dialed Sephiroth's number on her phone as she walked past some of her fellow classmates. The phone on the other end rang a few times before the voice mail came one. It was obvious to see that she was extremely frustrated.

"Damnit Seph, answer your damn phone!" she nearly shouted as she dialed again and placed it by her ear only to be greeted by the voicemail.

Sighing angrily and defeated she closed her phone and put it back into her pocket, she continued to roam throughout the school with no real destination, she didn't understand why Sephiroth wasn't answering his phone. He always answered it before so why was he refusing to answer it now? She clenched her fists tightly and walked blindly past other students.

The young female wore short black pants that reached to her knees, a white tank top with a black leather vest over it, and black sneakers on her feet. She continued to walking by herself for a bit in an attempt to blow off some steam. Her pace seemed to quicken with every step that she took till a familiar sight caught her attention. She stopped almost immediately when she found she had wandered a bit further than she should have, but before her was a blond-haired boy that looked no older than her looking relaxed sitting on a beach and looking up at the sky.

"Hey, you're not supposed to sit here," She said approaching him.

Cloud removed his eyes from the tranquil and serene sky and turned to the female whom had disrupted his train of thought.

"Why not?" He asked

"Oh, you're the new kid," Tifa commented, "Well if you don't know this part of the institute is off limits, here is where they train the future Turks."

"So it's just off limits to students like us," Cloud replied a bit rude.

"Well, yes," Tifa replied before taking a seat on the same bench but on the opposite side.

"And what are you doing here?" He asked.

The crimson-eyed female was still a bit flustered that she couldn't get through to Seph but tried her best to seem normal, "I just was to be alone for a while," She answered.

Cloud nodded and stood up, "Loneliness isn't a good cute for anger or depression," He said looking down at her.

Tifa looked up at him with a lost expression, wanting to now what he was talking about.

Cloud smiled at her in response, "pleasure to meet you, I'm Cloud," He told her.

"Right sorry, Tifa," She replied a bit quickly and overconfident.

Cloud wasn't taken back by Tifa's forwardness towards him, he just smirked, but right now he had other things he needed to do.

"Well it's been a pleasure meeting you, but I gotta go now, take care," He said as he turned from her and waved before walking off.

Tifa did nothing she just watched as he left before sitting back on the bench, her limbs and muscles relaxed a bit and she looked up at the sky, she became peaceful just watching the white clouds float through the blue sky, it strangely calmed her, "Cloud, huh, that sounds so serene" She said to herself before taking up a similar position that Cloud had when he was sitting there.

---------------

Sephiroth lay back on his bed; he was looking up at this phone which was held in his right hand suspended above him. He listened to the ring tone of the incoming call then watched as yet another missed call was added to list. His eyes never changed, they were still detached and emotionless. When the phone stopped ringing he withdrew the effort used to lift his hand letting it drop on the bed and the phone falling somewhere on the bed also. His room was dark, except for a few rays on sunlight and penetrated the dark curtains there was no other source of light, even the backlit screen of his phone faded and was engulfed in darkness, but he didn't care. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday, his body facing up at the ceiling but it seemed to have little life. His mind was constantly replaying the events from the previous day.

_Flashback_

Sephiroth quickly dispatched the two knights in front of him and reached the end of the hallway, he had made it in time, he could see his mother a few feet in front of him, her clothes were dirty but it didn't matter to him he was almost there, he pushed his body forward but as he did it became as cold as ice, as soon as the electrical signals sent from his brain to his muscles tell them to hove had arrived at their destination he saw the flames rise from the vents below his mother. At that moment his body froze, his heart and all the blood in his veins felt as if it was frozen also, his eyes refused to close even as a single tear formed on the corner of his right even and trailed down his cheek.

His hand gripped his katana tightly, soon he was squeezing the grip so tightly blisters formed on his palms, he stepped forward taking each step slowly, he then turned to the platform where Rufus and his entourage stood, they were exiting the chamber, his eyebrows narrowed and his focused menacingly at their retreating forms.

_End of Flashback_

He was unaware of the passage of time as he sat there staring into nothingness. Eventually he sat up; his long silver hair rising of the mattress beneath him, in the dark room he was able to find his phone that he had carelessly droped, he began punching in a number as he stood up and walked towards the curtains of his room, he opened them so the light can enter. After a few rings on the other side he heard someone answer.

"Hello," The voice said.

"Zack," Sephiroth replied, "I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure…wait does it have anything to do with this evening, you know Tifa is…" Zack was cut off.

"Yes it has everything to do with that, Zack listen to me carefully…"

--------------

It was now late afternoon Cloud had successfully snuck into the Shinra military base in Midgar. He had managed to go unnoticed, one of the main reasons was the lack of security, in fact he noticed that the base was quite scarce.

"So why am I here again?" Cloud asked his silent voice.

Like always there was a brief silence.

"Alright," He replied as he proceeded through the base.

He turned a corner but immediately say two guards patrolling the area, he pressed his body against the corner and waited for them to pass before proceeding on his way. Cloud didn't know what he was even searching for but he felt as if he was getting closer to it, as he progressed through the military base he noticed security was becoming tighter. The blond-haired boy peaked out from a corner, he noticed that guards patrolling a closed off area, with a certain time variable before the other guard arrives. Timing the variable perfectly he waited till the last guard left then made a mad dash forward and launched himself over the thirteen foot wall. He could feel something in his gut rise, a bad feeling that left a sour taste in his mouth, once over the wall he hurriedly tried to conceal himself.

"Alright, I feel I'm getting close, what is this you wanted me to witness again?" He asked the wind.

The wind responded by howling forth and sweeping through the military base.

"Alright fine," Cloud said to himself, before sneaking around another corner.

He made his way towards the airfield when suddenly powerful gust of wind erupted above him, blowing his clothes violently and messing up is already messed up hair. He pinned himself up to the wall on instinct, and witnessed a giant airship Gelnika model pass above him and take off into the sky, it was followed by another airship of the same model following it. Cloud looked up at the wall he was leading against it was tall, probably around twenty feet. It took this a few minutes to scale the giant wall but he soon he was on the perimeter wall that surrounded the airfield. It was then he realized what had come to pass.

On the field before him various other Gelnika airships were landing and being filled with Shinra troops, one filled it would fly off in the direction Cloud witnessed earlier, but there were tens of thousands of troops all properly organized and filing into the airships. All the troops were in full uniform and fully armed.

"What!" Cloud gasped in disbelief "Shinra has decided to go to war!? It's too soon!"

The young boy ran along the perimeter wall until he was nearing the airbase, then he saw him. The Emperor standing there overseeing his army preparing for and his aides alongside him. His eyes narrowed, baring hatred towards the young Emperor, his hand trembled a bit but after a few seconds instantly snapped to attention and went up to grip the hilt of the Heaven's Cloud, he prepared to pull it out from its holster but he was quickly interrupted.

"_Sheathe You Sword!"_ A thunderous voice echoed in the boy's mind forcing him down onto his knees and making hold his head with one of his hands, the voice made his mind tremble and his hand covered one of his eyes and clutched the right part of his face, in a matter of moments he was panting heavily as if he was exhausted.

"I understand," He spoke quietly, "Lucifer…"

To Be Continued…

* * *

Well I hope this chapter was enjoyable, well don't worry I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner, but it the mean time leave a review okay, who knows might give me some inspiration. Well I forgot to mention this earlier but this fic was based off and inspired by Last Order (the ff7 anime) and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, so it can get pretty dark. Oh yeah as for Tifa's outfit in this chap it's basically similar to the one she wears in Advent Children.  



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